The 88th Academy Awards will probably be best remembered for the controversial lack of ethnic diversity amongst the award nominees, than for the awards themselves. There were, however, a couple of surprises in an otherwise predictable list of winners.
One upset to please British film fans was Bridge of Spies actor Mark Rylance picking up the gold statuette for Best Supporting Actor. Sylvester Stallone, hotly tipped for his role (playing himself?) in the latest Rocky film, went home empty handed.
The only other big upset was in the night’s biggest award category, Best Picture. Instead of favourite The Revenant picking up the award the Oscar went to Spotlight, the story of the journalistic investigation into child abuse in the Catholic Church.
Otherwise it was a night for the favourites with Brie Latson winning Best Actress for her role in Room, and six-time nominee Leonardo DiCaprio finally coming out on top with Best Actor for his gruelling role in epic The Revenant. The film also won the Best Director award for Alejandro inarritu, giving him back to back wins after picking up the same award last year for Birdman.
Perhaps not a vintage Oscars year, but definitely some films well worth a watch if you haven’t seen them yet.